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Don't miss the 2025 Adult Winter Read!
This year's Adult Winter Read is The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez, a powerful novel about the construction of the Panama Canal, casting light on the unsung people who lived, loved, and labored there.
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It is said that the canal will be the greatest feat of engineering in history. But first, it must be built. For Francisco, a local fisherman who resents the foreign powers clamoring for a slice of his country, nothing is more upsetting than the decision of his son, Omar, to work as a digger in the excavation zone. But for Omar, whose upbringing was quiet and lonely, this job offers a chance to finally find connection.
Ada Bunting is a bold sixteen-year-old from Barbados who arrives in Panama as a stowaway alongside thousands of other West Indians seeking work. Alone and with no resources, she is determined to find a job that will earn enough money for her ailing sister's surgery. When she sees a young man--Omar--who has collapsed after a grueling shift, she is the only one who rushes to his aid.
John Oswald has dedicated his life to scientific research and has journeyed to Panama in single-minded pursuit of one goal: eliminating malaria. But now, his wife, Marian, has fallen ill herself, and when he witnesses Ada's bravery and compassion, he hires her on the spot as a caregiver. This fateful decision sets in motion a sweeping tale of ambition, loyalty, and sacrifice.
Searing and empathetic, The Great Divide explores the intersecting lives of activists, fishmongers, laborers, journalists, neighbors, doctors, and soothsayers--those rarely acknowledged by history even as they carved out its course.
Join the Online Winter Read Book Discussion
Wednesday, February 5, 6:00 - 7:00 pm
Cristina Henríquez is the author of four books including, most recently, The Great Divide, which was a TODAY Show Read With Jenna Pick, a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection, and one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2024. It was also a finalist for the Heartland Booksellers Award and is a Goodreads Choice Award nominee.